Mark Lawrenson joined John Duggan on Football Saturday to discuss David Moyes and Kurt Zouma.
Kurt Zouma became a household name for the wrong reasons last week.
The West Ham central defender was seen abusing his cat in a video that went viral. His cats have since been seized from him and West Ham fined him two weeks wages. But Zouma has not missed any time on the field for the London-based club.
Fining Zouma cost him £250,000. That's a lot of money in any context. But it's also just two weeks wages for the Premier League starter. Zouma will make that money back over time.
Instead, fans and media have questioned the motivation of the club and its manager in not suspending Zouma. He reportedly showed contrition after the incident and accepted all punishment that came his way. He is unlikely to contest or argue against any suspension. So the club appeared to be acting in its own interests.
David Moyes said as much when he was asked about it.
Moyes is a long-time friend of Mark Lawrenson. Lawrenson has never hid that fact and didn't shy away from criticizing him on Saturday. John Duggan asked Lawrenson how Moyes managed to get it so wrong.
"I don't know," Lawrenson said.
"It was Watford at home wasn't it. He didn't badly need to win but obviously he wanted to win. I think he's just got it spectacularly wrong to be honest with you. And as they say, with every action there's a reaction and boy has there been a reaction. So it's a strange one.
"If he actually thought about it and flipped it on its head...even if he wanted to play him, it's not as though they were playing Man City. It's Watford, you'd be thinking let's put someone else in there anyway."
West Ham beat Watford 1-0. Zouma played. He started. They would have beaten Watford with or without him in all likelihood. Zouma will play again against Leicester on Sunday. Leicester are a better team than Watford despite their inconsistency this season.
In theory, Moyes could have benched Zouma and brought him back for this game. That would have given the club everything they wanted and let the controversy pass. By starting him in both games, they are prolonging the controversy surrounding the club.
"It wouldn't have been anything like as bad as it's been. Moyes is a dog lover, a pet lover, all that kind of stuff and whatever you think. People just aren't having it are they.
"It would have been something else by now [if Moyes benched Zouma]."
West Ham are currently fourth in the Premier League table. They have the same games played and points as Manchester United, so they are in a tight race for a Champions League spot.
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